Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - How Sean Payton, Bo Nix Can Unlock EXPLOSIVE Denver Broncos Offense In 2025

Episode Date: June 23, 2025

The Denver Broncos offense can unlock itself even further as Bo Nix and Sean Payton head into year two together. What can Payton, Nix do to add more wrinkles into the offense that they couldn't do his rookie year. How important is Courtland Sutton, Evan Engram, Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, and RJ Harvey to Nix and the offense's development and why is the Broncos offensive line continuity key for success? Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!RugietHead to Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get 15% off today. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Denver Broncos offense will be more explosive in 2025 due to the pairing of Sean Peyton and Bonix and their comfort level. We'll highlight how that will take place on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? Welcome into another episode of Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where you know it's your team every day for all your

The Broncos news, content coverage analysis, and more becoming every day you're here. Subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcast and a special shot on. Thank you to all the every dayers out there in Broncos Country. Thanks for tuning in, making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter from All High Sports. And I'm Sarah Bedinger, site expert at predominantly orange.com. Here's what you're going to get on today's episode of the show. Broncos Country, we're bringing the heat for you here as we take a look at some superlatives

heading into this upcoming season. We'll talk about how the pairing between Bow Nix and Sean Peyton is expected to unlock the Broncos offense as they take a step forward here in year number two inside of the system and how that'll translate into forming the offensive identity here for this offense. We'll also highlight Bo Nix and the new weapons that he has all around him and the established roles that we perceive for a handful of players at running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Plus, we'll tell you why the Broncos offensive line and the continuity there is key for them unlocking the next step of that offense. You're going to get all that here on today's

episode of the show. SIR. Let's obviously highlight the more important thing here as we talk about, you know, this offense and what they can do to take a step forward here in 2020. We saw the pairing of Sean Peyton and Bo Nix in their first season together. And yeah, there were some ups and downs. But overall, Bo Nicks passed the eye test. Bo Nicks learned a lot with all the information that Sean Payton was throwing his way.

And I feel like after a baseline of seeing that for his rookie season with the moves that the team has made now, how can this pairing maybe take the next step to unlock the offense here going into their second season together? I think Bo Nix really being the tide that raises all boats in the harbor is the next step for this offense in 2025, Cody. And what do I mean by that? Well, obviously we saw last year, Bo was doing a lot, right? He had to prepare for the draft process.

You had to travel all around, interviewing with teams, doing your pro day, doing your private workouts. And then on top of that, you've got to go learn an NFL. offense. You've got to get acclimated to a brand new city. You've got to get acclimated to mostly all new teammates, although we know Bo had a familiar face there in Denver to kind of help him transition. But at the same time, there's so much new. It's just new on top of new, on top of new. And then you're learning how to play against NFL defenses as opposed to playing against college defenses. And I think the fact that Bo Nix had a historic rookie year, not just for Denver

for Broncos history, but nearly set the NFL rookie record with touchdown passes, had the most total touchdowns of any rookie last year at 35. I think that what we saw from Bo in year one is merely the tip of the iceberg. You hear all the time players talk about, hey, the game, you know, it's slowing down a little bit for me. Bo said that near the end of last season. And what he means by that is, is that he's able to go out there and do less thinking and more playing football.

And that's where you see those athletic traits. shine. That's where you see, oh, now he can point something out on film and utilize that in a game situation. It's about getting 10 steps ahead of the opposition. So there's so many different ways, Cody, but I think Bo being the tide to raise all boats in the harbor, that's the number one thing that I'm looking for in year two. On what was impressive to me throughout his rookie season, we mentioned the slow star, right? Weeks one through weeks four. And granted, week three, he had his best early on game of his career, even though he had a passing touchdown, he had a Russian touchdown. He commanded the offense, led to a big win against Tampa Bay.

But for him to throw his first touchdown pass in week four, and then to end up finishing leading all rookies with overall touchdowns last season was impressive. He went on a tear last season. And all of this while processing all the information to Sean Peyton is throwing at him. And look, I think you mentioned it here. The one thing that I think we'll see here in year two, how the Broncos offense can unlock itself a little bit further. All right.

Last year as a rookie, Sean Payton, through all the foundational aspects of this offense at Bo Nix. was something that, hey, you have to continue to get reps in. You have to go through and say, this is the bread and butter of what we want to do offensively. But here's the wrinkle. The Broncos didn't have a consistent enough run game. Like when you look at a really good Sean Payton offense, there is balance. You have a really good run game combined with the fact that you have a really good quarterback. Like when Drew Breeze was Sean Payton's quarterback, Drew was surgical. He was efficient. But he also had a really good run game as well. And that made

the New Orleans Saints offense so difficult to defend at times. The Broncos last year, their offense was Bo Nix. He was the engine that kept that motor running last season and all without an effective run game. The Broncos have obviously taken steps this off season to try to make that, you know, a little bit more prevalent where, hey, we have a run game now. And now Bo can continue to do what Bo does best to give us the best chance to have an explosive offense here.

I think one thing we will see a little bit more of here in year two, how this can unlock the offense. Can and will Sean Payton add more wrinkles to his offense that we have historically seen, right because going back to the aforementioned lack of a run game the Broncos offense at a large portion of the time last season defenses were saying hey we know you guys can't run the football we're going to just go out there and we're going to try to prevent you from passing the football and luckily po nix was able to do that which i think is impressive i think that's a great sign for his future in the outlook of where he's at leading the team here but can you add that run game thread in there to be a little bit more consistent to where that will open up more play action stuff for Bo Nix in this offense to go through there and thrive. And so much of that is also on the personnel around him. To me, I want to know if the Broncos will add more things in year two, that they necessarily couldn't run with Bo Nix in year one because of, you know,

rookie process, but also the playmakers and personnel around him. Yeah, that's a, that's a great distinction to be made as well, because when I talk about being the time to raise all boats, I don't mean, all right, we're all hitting up to Boe and he's going to drag us all along, right? I think there's a huge distinction to be made there. What I mean is that, yeah, you're sitting in a harbor full of other ships. You've got to be the tide to raise those boats, but you're not sitting there with a bunch of rundown, hey, sinking ships, right, or ships that don't work.

You're sitting there with a bunch of really nice ones. And you're getting the opportunity now to be like, hmm, okay, I can put the ball on a spot. And I know that my guy is going to go make a play. And that's Bo's job. He's got to put the ball on the spot. He's got to make the accurate throw. his guy's got to help him out though that's the big thing too and i think that with better chemistry with these players and bow having a better understanding of the offense he's going to be able to more

consistently put his guys in those positions to make plays right last year it felt pretty hit or miss we had the downfield passing game was going really well and other than that it was screens you know and the short to intermediate passing game struggled because i think the timing was just a little bit off between these guys. I think there was, you know, like you said, teams loading up the box makes it harder. And just having a better feel for the pro game is going to help Bo. It's going to help his teammates. And because the game is going to slow down for him, in my opinion, I think that's going to happen, Cody. Because of that, I believe that we're going to see him consistently putting his guys in way better positions to be able to make plays, make plays after the catch, make plays at

the catch point. He's going to put the ball where it needs to be consistently. And he's not going to have to be out there just thinking all the time. He's not going to be out there having to wonder, is everybody in the right spot? Do I have everybody in the right spot? Is the play clock running down? Do I have to hurry up the snap? I think he's going to be just operating at a much higher level. I mean, based on what we've seen early on in the off season program, OTAs,

mini camp, Bo looks extremely comfortable in the system. We've talked about it. We've highlighted it here on the show, the level of command. And he, Bo himself has even told us that, you know, there's not as much thinking going on as there was last year with all the information overload, right? Because that's one of the things I always think we look at with quarterbacks that it's such an underrated aspect of the game. All right, everyone could talk about, okay, can the quarterback throw the ball? Can he, you know, throw across the middle

the field, can you throw the downfield ball there? But the idea is, how can you read defenses and continue to grow while having all this information that we know with Sean Payton's offense thrown at you? It's a lot of information. And Bo has to know the protections responsibility. He's got to identify the mic linebacker. He's got to know where the slot receiver is running. He's He's got to know how if Cortland Sutton's got a corner playing press coverage and there's a too high show. And they have this play called, how does it change based on if they're in cover two versus cover four? Like it's all these pieces that just make, I think, the little nuances of the game, fun to watch. But it's such an advanced level that not many people understand.

And so for him to go through and operate effectively, that was so impressive last year. And with him being comfortable in the same system and maybe adding some more stuff this year with new pieces and playmakers around him, That I think will help the Broncos offense unlock itself. You know, they were a top 10 scoring unit in 2024. Can they be a top five scoring unit? Can they be an explosive threat offense this upcoming season? If all these things married together, they can and they will. And I'm excited to see that kind of formulate itself throughout the season as it progresses forward here.

But look, that's part of the key as we've talked about. Nix's comfort, the pairing with Sean Payton. But Broncos country, the weapons around Bo Nix are just as important. And we'll tell you why Bo has all the pieces around him and defined roles with those guys that will help the offense and lock itself here in 2025. We'll break that down and much more here on today's episode. Lock on Broncos.

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That's different in 2025 for the Denver Broncos as, They have gone out and made some significant upgrades to the offensive weaponry and given Bo Nix some better tools to work with Broncos. We're breaking down Bo Nix's weapons here on today's episode. Lockdown Broncos, appreciate you all for tuning in every single day. Cody, let's talk about it because I know the phrase. As somebody who is terrible at building stuff and fixing stuff and putting stuff together, I need the best tools possible. I need the tools around me to make things easier for me. I need to have that easy button.

And I think that Bo Nix last year, on top of learning a difficult offense, on top of having a demanding head coach, on top of his receivers constantly dropping passes, I mean, you just didn't have a great supporting cast. There's no question about it. And I'm trying to think, I'll think of a great movie example to throw in the mix here as we get along. But I think when we talk about Bo Nix's weapons for 2025, we've significantly seen this team make some upgrades here. all across the board on this roster. Yeah, we have.

And I think when you look at the NFL draft, there were some key additions, free agency. There are some key additions there. But I also think when we talk about just the game of football itself, last year's team, right, there's a growth factor, right? We've seen Cortland Sutton over the last two years evolve. We've seen other guys' roles start to emerge a little bit. Player development has been a major emphasis for this team.

And with that, there have been upgrades, right? So let's talk about that. I think for first and foremost, as we look at maybe, Bow Nix's weapons. We go through some subcategories here to really highlight, I think, the emphasis on what those established roles will be here this upcoming season. First off, top target, easy button, Cortland Sutton. I mean, you look at the connection at Bone Nix and Cortland had together on third down last season. That was the go-to.

Defenses knew it was coming. And a lot of the times, defenses couldn't stop that connection. How many big games did we see where, hey, it's third down the Broncos. They need to keep the drive alive. Bo to Corlin Sutton. keeps it going, you know, downfield threat, where it may be, you know, you get that big play there. It was evident that Cortland and Bo, this is the team's top connection. And this relationship between these two guys is going to be a big reason why the Broncos

offense has sustained success here in 2025. Let's put things into reference as to how important this connection was in 2024 as Bo was a rookie. Cortland Sutton obviously had 81 catches last season. He had obviously a handful of touchdowns there, but he had 81 catches on $1,000. 35 targets. Obviously, Cortland had the most targets overall on the team. And between those 81 catches, 57 of those catches moved the chains here for a first down, Sarah. And I think when you look at security blanket, you look at, I need a go-to guy for Bow Nix. That is Cortland

Sutton. And with some of the additions around the Broncos here, I think that relationship is going to take a step further where if I had to project it now, we could see Cortland have over 100 catches with Bo Nix's upcoming season. That's what I at least, least project. And if everything goes according to plan, how I envision with some of the new additions, that means there's more one-on-one opportunities for Cortland, which could mean, hey, 100 plus catches, probably a little bit more realistic than it has been in the last handful of years. I think that's the number one way that he's going to get there, too, is guys around him stepping up. Because last year, I think just like when teams know you're going to run the ball or

when, you know, teams know you're in an obvious passing situation, they can kind of key in on one specific thing. That's how it felt with Cortland Sutton a lot of times last year. It felt like the Broncos had to scheme him open rather than be able to truly feature him in the offense. And I think that there's, you know, obviously there's a mix of those two things. You can throw the ball his direction and see if he can come down with it. It just didn't feel over the course of the year like every single week, bam, we can go to Cortland Sutton when we need a big conversion on a slant play on third and short or when we need, you know, a big catch in the red zone or things like that. It didn't always feel like that. And he's been productive in the red zone. He's been

productive in contested catch situations. He's made tight catches. He's made tough grabs. But at the same time, you need other receivers to say, all right, we can go this direction so that Cortland is getting those one-on-one chances. And just think about that. I mean, if another guy is starting to make plays, you got to focus more attention on him. It sort of, safety might cheat over the top against Coral and Sutton. Sean Payton's going to notice that. His staff is going to notice that stuff. And over the course of a game, over the course of a season, it makes such a big difference. The guys who are going to have to take attention off of him, the gadget players in this offense, Cody, Marvin, Mims, and Troy Franklin. Marvin had the breakout in the second

half of last year after the trade deadline where they finally made a serious effort to get him involved in the offense. And then Troy feels like really the replacement for what Jerry Judy brought to the table in terms of a bigger, longer guy who's not necessarily as physical, but has speed has after the catchability. You can get him the ball a variety of different ways and allow him to utilize those athletic traits in space. That's what I think Troy brings to the table much different, though, from Marvin Mims, who Marvin is like, you know, the quintessential, you can line him up at running back.

You can put him in the slot. You can put him out why. You can do all these sorts of things with him, whereas Troy feels like he's just got that, he can beat you over the top and he can beat you if he's getting the ball in space. and the Broncos have to scheme these guys' opportunities in both ways. Well, I think when you look at their utilization last season, Marvin Mims, for him to put up the production he did down the stretch last season, he only played 24% of the team's offensive snaps in 2024, right?

You factor in the return threat game that's big there. But offensively, his impact and that amount of snaps, I think speaks volumes as to, hey, this is a player who when he's on the field, he can be special. And I think when you add in a guy we're going to talk about here in a minute. I really think that you can maximize different matchups, especially if you include them in the backfield. But also here's a thing where I think that, you know, a guy like Troy Franklin, you mentioned the deep ball aspect there, right? That's great. I think that the Broncos need to get Troy Franklin involved in those short to intermediate routes, those crossing patterns that we

saw with he and Bo Nix at their time together at Oregon. That's going to open things up a little bit further. I think the same exact thing here with Marvin Mims. You know, people say Marvin can't run routes. I disagree. I've watched Marvin run plenty of routes. There's times where Marvin's open. It's just about progression. It's about first read, second rate, where things are at. Marvin is continuing to evolve in his role here. But I think Troy Franklin's usage last season as well, he saw an uptick and overall snaps where he played for the Broncos offense, 37% of their offensive snaps. So the gadget players, I think that those are fine roles to have here. Because I also think you can, if you're Sean Payton, Bo Nix, you could throw screen passes to Marvin Mims

and Troy Franklin, let them get the ball in their hands and let them get up field. We saw what was it last year. I can't remember which game it was, but they both scored on the same game on a screenplay inside the red zone. I think it was Carolina or was the Atlanta Falcons game. It was one of those two games there. Get that usage there. Both you look at Marvin and you look at Troy,

those guys can be jet sweep guys. They can be end around guys, though I know we want to see less of that inside the offense this upcoming season. They have similar skill sets that can help. And I'm excited to see how that evolves a little bit here. but we got to talk about probably the more important thing here. The major upgrade here to the Broncos offense that they didn't have last year. That's Evan Ingram at the tight end position.

And look, Evan Ingram's role, he's going to play in line. He's going to play in the slot. He's going to play outside. He might even line up in the backfield from time to time or underneath the formation here. I can't overstate enough how important this signing was for the Broncos because he has a unique skill set that like Marvin Mims, you can get one-on-one matchups with inside linebackers in the middle of the field where you have a favor.

know and you have a belief that you can win those matchups, and that impacts how a too high-shelled defense will eventually look to play you. No, no tight end on this roster has the hands like Evan Ingram, the ability to make plays after the catch like Evan Ingram, the ability to go up and make a play at the catch point like Evan Ingram. As far as trying to predict his role for this season based on what we've previously seen the last two years in Sean Payton's offense, I don't think we can predict it because nobody has been able to do

that. We might have seen glimpses from guys. Like they might have tried to do stuff with Greg Dulcich. They might have tried to do stuff with Lucas Krull. But really, Cody, this is going to be a completely new role in the offense, which I won't mention the name. I'll call it the Heath Ledger

role here, to quote one of the great all-timers in his particular role there. But look, that's what it's going to be. It's something that we've never seen before. It's, it's, I can't overstate it. think that a lot of times you can be hesitant to run the hype train for these offseason pickups

and try to keep the hyperbole to a minimum. The addition of Evan Ingram to the Denver Broncos offense, it could be what takes this team from being the 10th offense in the league that kind of just barely scraped and clawed their way into the top 10, thanks to the Chiefs resting their starters in weeks 18, if you want to point that out, all the way up to a top five offense and like a legit top five in everything. top five in passing, top five in rushing, top five in third down conversions, red zone. I think Evan Ingram is the key to that happening in 2025.

Well, let's go over a couple of quick rolls here as well. I got under the radar guys. I've got Pat Bryant, Devon Vele. More so I have these guys listed as the make them pay type of players there, where I think that if the Broncos, like if a defense goes out there and let's say they commit the double cover in Cortland Sutton or they try to take away Evan Ingram, I really feel like from a consistency standpoint, Devon Valet and or Pat Bryant will be the units or the guys that makes a defense pay, let's say on third down. They're going to be the guys that are going to be consistent chain movers here for this offense or a key catch, a key possession.

That's what I kind of highlight there. And then the wild card flash player, I think RJ Harvey, while he's still obviously going to have to come in and earn that role here, I think the speed dynamic, the vision that he has, the explosive play capability, that's going to be a wild card here for this Broncos. when you factored in with the additions of Evan Ingram, with the consistent growing of Cortland Sutton and Bownix and their connection together, the player development emphasis on the other guys that we talked about. These are key for the Broncos offense unlocking here in 2025. Broncos country, want to know your thoughts on who the top target under the radar player,

biggest upgrade in your opinion. Did we nail it? Do we get something wrong? Throw your two cents into the conversation on today's episode of the show. But part of the Broncos' offense continuing their climb and their assessment, here in 2025. Continuity is key in the Broncos. They've got continuity on the offensive line. We'll tell you why that will help the Broncos take a step forward here this upcoming season on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Continuity is key and that's the difference

between I think teams winning and losing in the NFL and for the Broncos offensive line, a unit that was deemed as the highest graded internally by George Peyton and Sean Peyton. They are the key for the Broncos offense, taking another step forward and unlocking things for Bo Nix and Sean Payton as they have that pairing here in year two. It all goes through the trenches. We'll highlight every detail you need to know on today's episode of the show. Sere, I feel like this is definitely something we should talk about because just several weeks ago, Sean Payton told us when it comes to this offensive line unit,

it's the unit that permeates throughout the building that has an impact on your quarterback, you're running back, your coaching, your head coach and how you do things as a team. And I think it's very, very true here with this Broncos' offensive line. and the good news about coming into 2025, everybody who started last season, they're returning. And this seems like for the first time in a while,

the Broncos have had continuity within this group itself. And I think that this is a unit that the team obviously perceives as their biggest strength. And what's really cool about the continuity is that most of these guys, this will be their third year being together, right? I think four out of the five started with this team in 2023, aside from Luke Wattenberg, who was with the team back then, but wasn't the starting center.

So now you've got Luke taking that step forward last year. The Broncos have spoken highly of him this offseason. Quinn Miners could end up being the NFL's protector of the year. Garrett Bowles got the extension last year. Mike McGlinchie really plays like a captain for this team, although I know you're, I think it's just Bo Nicks on the offensive side of the ball. But Mike is certainly somebody that I feel, Cody, and you can tell me if I'm wrong about this,

but I feel like he probably has one of the most significant voices in that locker room as well. And then Ben Powers doing what he does. at the left guard position. So your starting five is awesome and guys got an opportunity last year to play in a couple of their absences, right? So your depth has been tested and proven. Last year, that was a big question, right? Is the Broncos have pretty untested, unproven depth on the offensive line.

Last year, it gets tested. Those guys get a chance to play. And for the most part, I thought they played really, really well. So not only do you have a strong starting five, but you have a group that ultimately you know that you can rotate in some pieces. and you've got exciting developmental guys. So the offensive line in Denver, I mean, it's good right now for this Broncos team.

And as much as we have talked about the Broncos run game struggling, the Broncos have seemingly painted that picture as being a running back issue and not necessarily their offensive line where Sean Payton told us that the team we're going back and watching tape last year. They left too much meat on the bones on some runs last season where guys weren't seeing the hole. They weren't hitting it. They weren't confident or they were stretching it out a little too long.

and I think that the Broncos with the extensive competition coming up at running back there, I think we will really see people start to separate in this, right? With the addition of J.K. Dobbins with obviously R.J. Harvey, Jalil McLaughlin having a lot of momentum here. And then some guys having some uphill battles like Audrake Estimate, the offensive line is going to be a major key of that. And so much of this, too, once we get into training camp, I know we're a couple weeks away from starting our training camp previews. I can't help but look ahead to saying, like,

if Audrake Estomay is not getting reps with this offensive line, And how will that bow for his chances, you know, essentially when we get to the competition, maybe something to keep an eye on here a little bit early on. But I think another element, too, about the offensive line and why Bo Nix is such an important part of these two units together here is you had an offensive line that was really good and pass block win rate, run block win rate according to some of the more important metrics out there from ESPN. But you also had a quarterback who was very good at not taking sacks.

And that was something that was very prevalent when he was at the University of Oregon. and he didn't get sacked off and he didn't take sacks. And when you talk about all the information overload of this offense and what Sean Payton needs his quarterback to be able to do, sometimes that can cause paralysis by analysis, right? You could overanalyze things. And we saw that. Russell Wilson had a really hard time in Denver with Sean's offense

and really trying to marry the two concepts of what they do well together. You saw Russell Wilson, which, I mean, this isn't just to Russ in Denver. This is Russ. You're everywhere he's been so far, Seattle, Denver, Pittsburgh, holding on the ball too long and taking sacks. Bo Nix didn't do that. Bo knows when to get rid of the football. And Bo also has the wherewithal to say,

hey, it's not here. I'm going to get positive yards because we can't afford to play from behind the sticks. And that's something that Sean Payton has really applauded him for as he's continued to progress, I think obviously here in the offseason program. And that's one of the things that I think people use as one of the biggest knocks against him, too, isn't it? And not the fact that he avoids taking sacks, but they say, well, leaves the pocket too early. And he does that because he feels the pressure. And there are times when maybe you're feeling pressure prematurely or maybe you should step up instead of escape out

the hatch, right? And so that's where the trust for the offensive line and that continuity becomes even bigger. And when you add in the factor of the running game improving, we hope, right? We hope the Broncos can get ahead of the sticks with the running game as opposed to first and 10, first play of the drive. Here comes a one yard run. And you're all of us. sudden second and nine almost every time or second and ten second and eleven how many I wish we could have that statistic uh right offhand Cody how many times were the Broncos in second or nine or worse because of the running game uh we need some baseball stats people to get involved in the NFL and find those things out but that that seemed to happen often and

it wasn't the offensive lines fault they are they're opening up the holes they're doing their job yes there's times when they get blown off their spot yes there's times when they get beat but at the same time, your backs aren't taking advantage of what they're being given, and it's affecting everything else. It affects, you know, Bo Nix's internal clock in feeling like I have to get out and make a play because I know we can't hand the ball off if we get it into a third and three or third and two situation. I'm going to have to make a play.

So I feel like that's one of those things that, yes, it's a knock because you don't want him to escape out the hatch too quickly, but at the same time, it's also his biggest asset as a player is that he doesn't take sacks. Taking a sack over the course of how many times Russell Wilson did it, that's basically like turning the ball over a lot of times throughout the course of a season because you're wiping plays off the board. You're giving the other team additional chances to score. So to me, that's one of Bow Nix's greatest assets.

And in pairing that with this offensive line continuity, man, you just can't help but get excited, especially if the Broncos can find a way to get that running game going. And I think one thing we saw with Bo is the season progressed last. year was, you know, I think early on, you would see like, okay, hey, he's escaping, trying to find that exit strategy really quickly at times when pressure was there. I think we started to see him be more comfortable from winning within the pocket. Like there's times where he hung in there. I think even that 93-yard touchdown to Marvin Mims delivers a strike, takes a shot.

The Buffalo Bills game, Detroit Franklin takes the shot, hangs in the pocket, and then delivers a strike, you know, despite contact there. Like, he's not afraid of absorbing a hit, whereas I think a lot of quarterback sometimes can be skittish with that. Of course, you don't want to take a hit, but you don't want it to affect your process, which could lead to a turnover and other things. So being able to win within the pocket, I think Beau showed as a season progressed last year, he can do those things. And that's exactly what Sean Peyton wants. I think when you look at today's NFL, you need to have the ability to be mobile and to escape, right?

But can you win within the pocket? That's the biggest key, I think, in today's game is defenses are getting better. And they're trying to counter all the rules that favor the offense. that's where the Broncos can find that advantage here with Bo and Sean as they prepare for their pairing here in year number two. Can the Broncos unlock itself a little bit further? If they do all these things that we've talked about here, we believe that will be the case. You'll see an explosive offense here in 2025. But what they said, Broncos country, that'll wrap up today's episode show.

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Hit that subscriber, follow the button so you never miss out on what's going on. Tomorrow's episode of the show, Broncos Country, Denver's defense last year. They led the NFL in Sacks. We'll tell you how they can lead the league in interceptions next season. We'll break that down on tomorrow's episode, Lockdown Broncos.